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Dinner offers taste of poverty

14 September 2005

A group of Pharmacy students has raised $3000 for a developing Pacific nation through a meal that gave diners a real taste of poverty.

Leading a merry dance. Pharmacy students perform Polynesian-style dancing at the Reality Bites dinner.

The Victorian College of Pharmacy student organisation, Remedy, held its annual Reality Bites dinner on 9 September to benefit the Department of Pharmaceutical Services in the island nation of Kiribati.

Although all tickets to the event were the same price, not everyone received a proper meal or even a seat at the dinner, held at the Victorian College of Pharmacy, at the Parkville campus.

While some diners were treated to a feast served on china plates at elaborate table settings, others had to be content with sitting on the floor and receiving a 'donated' bowl of food from the more privileged guests.

Reality Bites co-organisers, fourth year pharmacy students Ms Jana Dostal and Ms Dhineli Perera, said all diners came prepared for a third world experience.

"We randomly allocated the type of meal served to each person to emphasise the fact that, for the less privileged of the world, reality does bite -- every day," she said.

This year's dinner took on a tribal island theme, involving a student-choreographed Polynesian dance performance. Guest speakers included Victorian College of Pharmacy alumni Ms Sarah Anderson and Mr Andrew Harding and Monash student and 2004 Young Australian of the Year, Mr Hugh Evans.

The event built on the success of last year's inaugural dinner, which raised money for the Drug Information Centre of the Annamalai University in India.

Remedy was formed by Victorian College of Pharmacy students in 2003 to provide resources to pharmacy institutions in under-developed countries and to educate pharmacy students and the wider community about health issues faced in developing nations.